DIY Nail Art Designs and Easy Nail Polish Ideas: How to Do a Glitter French Tip at Home Quickly and Easily

Updated on May 13, 2012

Source

Easy Glitter French Tip Design

Glitter French tips look amazing, but usually it would mean having extensions done and having the glitter built into the nail tip. If you want to do your own glitter French tips at home, as part of your DIY nail art designs, you just need nail polishes, loose glitter, and a fanbrush. The beauty of this easy nail polish idea is that it's easy enough for beginners to do, and you can remove it using ordinary nail polish remover. Glitter tips also tend to last a longer longer without chipping, so this is a design that should last you at least a week or more. This design is also mentioned in my 5 Simple Nail Ideas for Beginners hub.

Step 1

I started by painting the nail with a nude nail polish. If you want to, you can use a clear nail polish. Just remember to always use a base coat and push back the cuticles with a steel cuticle pusher. If possible, also use a cuticle remover to get rid of any excess on the nail plate.

Step 2

Paint the French tip using nail polish with silver holographic glitter. The tip doesn't have to be perfect, because this won't determine it's ultimate shape, but the small glitters will help give the tip a more 'solid' look when it's done. Start with step 3 immediately while the polish is still wet.

Step 3

Use your fanbrush and apply the loose hexagon glitters to the tip while the polish is still wet. This will help them stick to the surface. Apply as many glitters as you need to get a reasonably solid-looking tip. If needed, use a pair of tweezers or the 'scraper' end of your cuticle pusher tool to gently move the glitters so they form a nice curve to give the tip a more finished look. Pat the glitters down gently using the tip of your finger. This will ensure they are all lying flat against the nail tip.

TIP: If you have trouble positioning the large glitter pieces, try creating a gradient glitter tip instead. I've written a tutorial with step-by-step instructions to make the process easier.

Once you've done all this, you'll just need to apply one or two coats of top coat to seal in the design and help secure the glitters to the nail. Two coats will help give the tip a smoother feel. The larger glitters tend to give the nail a roughness, especially after a few days' of wear.

You could use any colors you choose for this design, but I prefer silver glitter myself. I intend to do a full manicure with these at some point and when I do, I'll upload the pictures to this tutorial. This is such an easy DIY nail art design and really looks stunning, it's well worth the few extra minutes it takes to create the tips.

More by this Author

Water marble nails is just one of the cool nail polish tricks I've discovered over the last few months. Read on for important tips and tricks to get a perfect result every time. This is the perfect water marble nail art...